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Human resource development minister Kapil Sibal on Monday read the riot act to the state governments concerned over inordinate delays in setting up campuses for the new IITs at Gandhinagar, Jodhpur, Indore, Mandi and Ranchi.

Sibal made it clear that the land acquisition problems plaguing the new institutes will have to be sorted out immediately.

The IITs set up in 2008-09 do not have their own campuses yet and are functioning out of the campuses of the mentor IITs - the existing ones.

Sibal summoned the state government representatives and the IIT directors to intimate them about the new deadlines which have to be adhered to. The minister was reportedly upset with the Jharkhand government for skipping the meeting.

The Rajasthan government tried to make amends by promising to hand over the land as well as to supply electricity by December 23 to IIT Rajasthan.

It has also assured the minister that it will arrange for transport services to the new institute. The minister who wanted to expedite the work on the new campuses ensured that not just the state governments, but also the IIT directors and the representatives of central ministry concerned were present.

"Having an IIT is a matter of prestige for any state. The states concerned were the ones to demand the IITs in the first place. So it is appalling that the states failed to provide land despite assurances that they would do so," Sibal told the state governments.

The Gujarat government assured it would change the existing land lease for the new IIT at Gandhinagar from 30 years to 99 years. The agriculture ministry also assured that all clearances will be given since a large portion of the land was agricultural in nature.

The IIT Indore campus, however, has been held up due to environmental clearances as two-thirds of the proposed campus is on forest land. The state government has promised to get clearances and resolve the matter with the environment ministry.

HRD ministry sources said the delay in construction of these new campuses has also led to budgeting-related complications within the ministry itself. A considerable amount of the budget for higher education has been slashed as funds allocated for setting up of these campuses were not utilised.

To ensure that deadlines are adhered to, Sibal instructed his officials to write to all state governments concerned detailing the problems.

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